Several members have called to ask about the “We Honor Veterans” campaign, so we wanted to be sure you were aware of this initative, which focuses on hospice benefits for the nation’s veterans. We Honor Veterans is a program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) in collaboration with the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Under this initiative, the Veterans Department has invited hospices, state hospice organizations, Hospice-Veteran Partnerships and VA facilities to join in an outreach campaign for veterans in need of a hospice benefit.

We Honor Veterans provides educational tools and resources in advancing these goals:

• Promote Veteran-centric educational activities
• Increase organizational capacity to serve Veterans
• Support development of strategic partnerships
• Increase access and improve quality

We Honor Veterans also provides tiered recognition to hospice organizations, known as Partners, that demonstrate a systematic commitment to improving care for veterans. Several Minnesota hospice agencies have signed up as partners for this project.

As a We Honor Veterans Partner, there are four levels of participation. The primary goals of each Partner level are described below:

Recruit Get oriented and commit to the We Honor Veterans program.
Level 1 Provide Veteran-centric education for staff and volunteers, and identify patients with military experience.
Level 2 Build organizational capacity to provide quality care for Veterans.
Level 3 Develop and strengthen relationships with VA medical centers and other Veteran organizations.
Level 4 Increase access and improve quality of care for Veterans in your community.

Hospices can “earn their stars” and matching logo by completing activities for each of the four levels of commitment. This enables VA staff and Veterans to easily identify hospices that have made a commitment to offer Veteran-specific care and services provided by a competent and highly skilled workforce.

Patti Cullen, CAE
952.851.2487
pcullen@careproviders.org

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